70 years on remembering Burngrange Pit

The Courier have teamed up with West Lothian Local History Museum to help readers take a trip down memory lane. This week: The 70th anniversary of the Burngrange disaster.

January 10 marked 70 years since an explosion and fire claimed the lives of 15 men at Burngrange Pit.

The flame from a carbide lamp ignited a pocket of firedamp. A small explosion was felt but this ignited more gas and 30 minutes the timbers and oil shale were on fire.

Thirty eight men were able to escape, bringing with them the body of John McGarty.

The other men could not be reached and their bodies were recovered on January 15 .

The victims left behind a total of 11 widows and 26 children.

John McGarty: John was knocked off his feet and hit his head on the way down. A party was sent to rescue“Jock”, but he died. A fractured skull was the official cause of death.

John had not been scheduled to work that night as he was covering the shift of“Tammy Tamson”who was attending a“Mines Rescue” training course.

George Easton: George grew up in West Calder and was the son of George Easton and Elsie.

George married Elizabeth Marshall in 1918. His body was the last to be found. He suffered from heart trouble and it was thought that he hadn’t been able to run as fast as the others.

Anthony Gaughan: Anthony was born in Ireland. Aged 24 he left for New York but his stay was short and he would marry Elizabeth Bruce in West Calder in 1926. The couple had a son and daughter, Pat and Anne.

James McCauley: James had worked at the pit since 1936.

Tragedy hit the McCauley family again only three months after the disaster.

On April 11, 1947 his widow Mary died from epithelioma.

John Fairley: Aged 20, John was the youngest victim. He lived in Seafield and was the son of a general labourer.

John Lightbody: He married Sheena in 1941 and the couple settled in West Calder. By 1947, they had two daughters.

William Ritchie: William had not been due to work on the night of the disaster. Meg, his sister-in- law had been ill and his brother, Jimmie, asked him to swap shifts. William was married to Elizabeth. They had three children, Cecilia, William and Lily.

David and William Carroll: Seafield brothers David and William both lost their lives.

William was married to Elizabeth and had two children, Nancy and Peter. David was married to Nellie and had five children, Peter, David, Jeanette, Billy and Anne.

Henry Cowie: Henry was the son of Christina Roberts. His stepfather and three of his brothers, William, Alex and Eddie, worked at Burngrange. They weren’t working on the night of the disaster.

Thomas Heggie: Thomas was the son of a shale miner. He married Mary Telford in 1940 and the couple had two children, Kenneth and Isabel.

William Findlay: William was born in Kirkliston. He was married to Catherine Rodger and had children, Thomas, James and William.

Samuel Pake: Sam served in the Navy from March – October 1944. He married Agnes Farquar in 1945 and by 1947 the couple had one daughter, Yvonne. Sam had applied to join the police and, tragically, his acceptance letter arrived on the morning of the disaster.

David Muir: David was one of ten children born to James and Margaret. David and his pal Sam Pake were both at the top of the tunnel brae at the time of the explosion.

William Greenock was also killed in the disaster but we don’t have much information on William.